Museum hop draws new faces to exhibits

Chico >> The museum hop didn't have huge numbers of patrons lined up to see the exhibits, but it did draw a few new people to 10 of Chico's museums on Saturday and Sunday.

It was especially busy for the Chico Creek Nature Center on Saturday, said Rachel Barnhill, a naturalist assistant.

Barnhill said she saw a lot of new faces looking at the different animals and the Nature Center received quite a few donations.

The Chico Area Museum Alliance's museum hop featured a passport card that patrons had stamped at each museum. At the end of browsing as many exhibits as possible, the cards were dropped off at the last museum visited and entered for a raffle prize.

At the Gateway Science Center, weekend supervisor Erin Johnson said the weekend had been a little slow, but the people who did show up were almost all participating in the hop.

"It has been pretty cool to see all the people getting interested in the museums," she said.

Jaylee Adams, of San Diego, enjoyed the displays at the science center, especially the hands-on exhibits.

The eight-year-old and her family were visiting Chico for a cousin's wedding.

They weren't sure if they would visit other museums.

At the Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park, Erica Martin hadn't seen many people on the hop.

"We've only had a few people," the interpretive specialist said. "But it is only the first year."

At the mansion early Sunday afternoon, about a dozen people were ready for a tour of the mansion.

At Salem and West Second streets, the Chico Museum's "Chico in Black and White: Historical Photos from the John Nopel Collection" exhibit was fairly busy.

Saturday had been steady, and Sunday morning saw quite a few visitors, said Judy Smith, a volunteer for the both the Chico Museum and the Stansbury Home.

Smith said she hadn't had many people who asked to get their passport cards stamped.

Other cities that held museum hops usually have a flat rate that gets pooled between the different facilities, Smith said. She thought Chico's museums should do the same thing.

"It's a great idea," she said. "Maybe next year we'll get more people doing it."